The DREAM Program, Annual Reports, Annual Report, 2009

DREAM

The DREAM Program 2009 Annual Report The DREAM Program, Inc. PO Box 361, Winooski, VT 05404 802.338.8979 www.dreamprogram.org

Board Members Kristin Burdge King Street Youth Center Burlington, VT Patrick DeLeon* Burlington, VT Bill Finnegan, Chair Co-Founder of Tamarack Media Montepelier, VT

DREAM partners with AmeriCorps to expand the quality and breadth of our impact.

Mike Foote Former DREAM Program Director Winooski, VT Pete Land, Vice Chair Co-Founder of Tamarack Media Burlington, VT Lu Neuse Student of Education, Former Mentor and Staff Member Burlington, VT Kristin Towbin Retail Training Manager at Ben and Jerry’s Winooski, VT *Has left the Board since the end of the 2009 reporting period.

Annual Report 2009

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A Decade of Dedication Greetings from DREAM and welcome to our seventh Annual Report! I know I am sounding like a broken record, but there are limited ways to say “this past year was an amazing year for DREAM!� There are so many highlights to share as we look back on our successes and challenges since our last Annual Report; DREAM opened four new programs in 2008, we surpassed 225 mentoring pairs for the first time, several of our graduating DREAM high school students have gone on to college, and much more. Sharing these stories is why we provide this Annual Report and therefore I will not attempt to list them all here.

What is not detailed in this Annual Report is how these successes have shaped our ability to reach out to new communities and colleges and given us the confidence to set a series of exciting goals for the next five years.

As many of you know, in August of 2009 we opened a new office in Boston, Massachusetts. New programs now exist in Madison Park Village and Orchard Gardens, two communities in the Dudley Square area of Roxbury with mentors from Boston University and Northeastern University. However, what you may not realize is that we also have exciting development plans for our work here in Vermont.

In 2008, DREAM opened its first expansion office in Bennington, Vermont and began working with students at Bennington College and children living at Willowbrook in Bennington. This first foray into regional expansion has presented some challenges as can be expected, but overall has been a huge success. Over the next two years we hope to expand our reach in southern Vermont as we reach out to near-by Williams College. DREAM is continuing our efforts to provide solid Teen Programming to help keep our teens involved in DREAM throughout high school. In February, DREAM held its First Annual Teen Winter Adventure Camp at Camp DREAM and it was a huge success with over 50 teens and mentors in attendance! The Vermont DREAM office will continue to support and encourage all of the current amazing programs that over the past several years have continued to grow and expand.

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www.dreamprogram.org

Speaking of Camp DREAM, we continue to develop the property to make it an exciting and safe space for kids and mentors alike. We now have three sleeping cabins including the much heralded Tree House and our wonderful Lean-to camp site complete with two Adirondack style lean-tos and a rustic meeting pavilion. This spring we will break ground on a new building that will provide dining space, secure storage space and indoor programming space.

Finally, it is wonderful to note that 2009 marked the tenth year of college students making dreams a reality for children in Vermont. In the past ten years we have been able to do so much with so many, and we owe this all to you the mentors, kids, parents and extended family of DREAM. Your efforts and support have made all of this possible. In fact, DREAM as an office plays just a small role in the life-changing experiences the kids and mentors realize in DREAM. So, your efforts and support mean all that much more and make a world of difference for over 500 kids and mentors in DREAM. Thank you!

Dream, Michael Loner Executive Director

Contents DREAM Timeline

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A Supportive Community

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The DREAM Tree: How It All Fits Together

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Our Children

One of the First DREAMers

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Our Mentors

A Summer with DREAM

Keeping in Touch: A DREAM Alumnus

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Our Support

The Central Office

Camp DREAM

D-Unit Summer Programming

The Alumni Organization

The Annual Appeal

Partners and Supporters

Organizational Partnerships

Our Future

Growing and DREAMing Big

DREAM’s Next Five Years

Current Programs as of 2009

An Interview with One of DREAM’s Founders

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30 32 34 35 36

Financial Statements Annual Report 2009

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The DREAM Timeline

A look back on our first ten years.

Winter

1999

Dartmouth College students cross the Connecticut River to hang out with kids from Templeton Court, a Vermont affordable housing community. The students bring the kids back to campus for one-on-one and group activities. DREAM is born!

Spring

2000

1999

35 kids and mentors mount a trip to Boston: the first Culminating Experience. That same year, the DREAM t-shirt is invented.

Children from Templeton Court and mentors from Dartmouth go on the first High Adventure: Colorado! By the end of 2000, DREAM has almost 70 mentor pairs.

2001

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DREAM incorporates as a non-profit called The DREAM Program, Inc. and opens up local programs across Vermont: the UVM program begins in 2002, followed by St. Michael’s College and Norwich University in 2003.

www.dreamprogram.org

2009

DREAM now maintains a strong presence at nine colleges in Vermont and New Hampshire: the University of Vermont, St. Michael’s College, Champlain College, Norwich University, Castleton State College, Green Mountain College, Bennington College, Middlebury College, and Dartmouth College. DREAM serves more than 200 children from 13 affordable housing communities throughout Vermont. Our Alumni Organization boasts over 800 mentors and children. This fall, the DREAM Central Office opened a second office in Boston. As we celebrate our first decade, we set our sights on helping more kids in more states across the nation!

2007

DREAM becomes an AmeriCorps State program, doubling the office staff. DREAM teens go on the first teen service trip to Washington, D.C. The North Woods/Hollow Drive and Windsor programs travel to Florida on a High Adventure.

2004

With the support of the Vermont Land Trust, DREAM purchases 50 acres of land on Metcalf Pond in Fletcher, VT. Camp DREAM is created!

Camp provides free summer and winter adventure to all children and mentors in the organization.

The Alumni Council is established. Programs are founded at Castleton and Champlain colleges. In 2005, the Elm St. program embarks on a High Adventure to Alaska.

Annual Report 2009

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A Supportive Community

by Lily Landes

As I near completion of my term as the first-ever DREAM historian, I find myself in awe of the history of the organization. This year marks DREAM’s tenth anniversary, and I wanted to celebrate that milestone by focusing the 2008 Annual Report on the importance of history: the history of DREAM itself, the individual histories of the families we work with, and the history of our communities coming together to help one another. By looking at the many small histories that make up our organization, we will better understand where we came from and be more mindful of the history we create for the future.

Recognizing the value of this perspective, DREAM chose to a hire a historian---a bold decision for a young non-profit. I feel honored to have held this position for the past two years, uncovering the origins of such a unique and remarkable organization. I have found that the history of the program is all about the children, families, mentors, and supporters who have built the organization from the ground up with an incalculable amount of love, dedication and support.

Together, these people have created a web of exceptional individuals who want to change history for the better and open up a world of possibilities for the children we mentor.

While I attempted to thread all of these histories together, the image of a tree kept coming to my mind---a tree that would hold all of these individual stories within its branches. I imagined the roots of the tree beginning with a child in one of our .communities presented with limited opportunities and in need of a friend. I envisioned a child and her family personifying the roots and trunk of the tree, the base from which all of the DREAM community grows. From a child, a series of branches connect to the mentors from our colleges. Their dedication and love help our kids grow, change, and experience new things. These relationships give the tree strength and support, and they extend the child’s reach closer to the skies. From these branches comes the final tier of the tree: our many, many dedicated supporters who make so many of these dreams possible.

Together, all of these vital components make up the DREAM tree on the following page.

Beautifully drawn by former staff member, Lu Neuse, the tree depicts a community of love and support that encourages each individual DREAM child to grow with it. All of these components embody DREAM’s core value of “Supportive Community,” the belief that all of those involved in the program---children, parents, mentors, staff, alumni, and other supporters---are part of a single community that works to support and sustain itself.

As you read this year’s Annual Report, I encourage you to use the core value of supportive community along with the illustration of the DREAM tree as your guide. I hope this report not only shares the individual histories of the extraordinary people that have made the program what it is today, but also how DREAM is continuing to mold history as it involves itself in lives of the children in New England and beyond.

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www.dreamprogram.org

Annual Report 2009

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our children

www.dreamprogram.org

The DREAM Program, Inc. builds communities of families and

college students that empower children from affordable housing neighborhoods to recognize their options, make informed decisions, and achieve their dreams. All of the mentors, office staff, partners, and supporters contribute their time, energy, and love to the program for these children and their families. These children drive our organization. They are the roots from which the rest of the DREAM tree grows.

They are why we do what we do. These children are why DREAM was created and why DREAM continues on.

These children are DREAM.

DREAM believes that by forming one-on-one relationships with mentors, these remarkable children form lasting connections, pursue new opportunities and adventures, and dream bigger than they ever thought possible.

Annual Report 2009

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“Through DREAM, I have met new people. Being in the program definitely had something to do with me doing better in school and being the team captain in sports and having more friends. I think DREAM has opened me up. I hope I can get into Dartmouth or any school that does DREAM. It would make a big impact on my life.”

- Christian Long, Windsor mentee

Forest Park D-Unit, 2007

“DREAM is the best thing that ever happened to me. I met my mentor Tara and so many other awesome people. DREAM is one thing I always look forward to every week. Thank you DREAM, for everything!”

–Susie Silva, Windsor mentee

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One of the First DREAMers Mikey Tobin - Ten Years Later

Mikey Tobin has been with DREAM longer than almost anyone. As one of the first children in the original Templeton program at six years old, Mikey has truly grown up with the organization: he is now nearly 18. Mike Foote, former Dartmouth mentor and one of DREAM’s founders, remembered,“Mikey was one of the first rascals who founded DREAM. I met him as he was turning six. Our twin connection meant that we could communicate telepathically, which was helpful as he ran around Dartmouth, exploring every nook and cranny of the college.

Along with his sister Sarah, Mikey is an all-star.

I’ve loved watching him (and his hair) grow.”

In Mikey’s own words: “I’m one of the last DREAM originals, which is awesome. I’ve been in the program since the beginning–about 1998–so over a decade. That’s pretty amazing. The furthest back that I can remember is meeting my first mentor. He picked me up and instantly flipped me upside down and set me on his shoulders.” Mikey continued, “DREAM has definitely impacted my life. I started at a young age, so DREAM is what I’ve been doing mostly every Friday for the past ten years or so. I’ve had some rough times, but DREAM has always been

Mikey, Co-Ed Camp Session, 2008

there for me. So I’m happy Mike Foote came up to me and told me, ‘We’re starting a program.’ Everybody in DREAM has a different personality, and it’s really great to have the program bring together a bunch of interesting, amazing people. DREAM is one big family and it’s so cool to have people who care about you and stay by you.”

Mikey has been to Camp nearly a dozen times and journeyed to both Florida and California on High Adventures. Mikey just got back from the 13-plus co-ed session at Camp and continues to be a DREAM rock star! Thanks for DREAMing big since the beginning, Mikey! We’re so proud of you!

Mikey Tobin, Age 6

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mentors our mentors

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www.dreamprogram.org

Our mentors

are dedicated, loving, and passionate individuals who reach out to our children and help them create new opportunities. These mentoring relationships give the DREAM tree strength and extend each child’s reach closer to the sky. DREAM mentors hang out on Fridays with their mentees, plan group programming and High Adventure trips, and get to know their mentees’ families. Most of all, mentors form strong bonds with the children they work with.

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“I really just want my mentee to have an amazing time when she sees me every week. She’s an awesome kid. I hope DREAM helps her realize just how cool she is and builds up her confidence. I want her to know that she can depend on me and that I am most certainly her friend. I think it’s a mutual learning process; I know I’ve learned a lot from her and I hope she could say the same for me.”

- Danielle Moore, Franklin Square mentor

“I can make a difference. I see it everyday.” - Kiersten Halliquist, Windsor mentor

“I think one of the best parts of DREAM is the community focus. I love being part of a program where you not only go to visit your mentee, but all of their neighbors and friends. It creates a home away from home when I’m at school.”

-Lindsay Deane, North Woods/Hollow Drive mentor

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“It’s been astounding to see the positive impact that a group of young people can have on the world... I have been in awe of the things that we, a group of college students, do in DREAM ever since I joined the program. I learned that a few people with a dream and some motivation can accomplish incredible things and do more good for the world than anyone could have expected. I’ve learned that I, personally, can take an idea like taking twelve kids to New York City for a week, or creating a retreat for teens all over Vermont, and develop it and see it through to the end. I have learned that the power of a dream can work magic on the world.”

-Jenna Mawhinney, former FrElm St. Mentor

Annual Report 2009

A Summer with DREAM

by Melissa Hirsch, Pine Meadow co-chair and former camp staffer

I was doing dishes at the end of last summer when one of my fellow counselors walked up with a huge bag of sawdust. He poured it out all over, hoping to soak up some of the water that drenched the ground---it rains constantly in Vermont in the summer. Then he held his hands under his chin like they were the paws of a small animal and, in a high-pitched English accent, said, “Welcome to Hamster Camp. I’m really nervous and I can saw my leg off with my teeth.” I laughed so hard that I fell to the ground. Another counselor approached and, still laughing, I threw up my hands in a kind of joyous surrender and yelled, “Welcome to Hamster Camp!” She started laughing hysterically and we both impersonated hamsters. Someone found us struggling to breathe through the giggles and ran to get his camera.

During the co-ed teen session earlier that summer, we ran over to the Farm Between for an afternoon of farm chore competitions. After the winners of a weeding contest kissed a chicken for the prize, it started to pour.

Waiting out the storm would have been a waste of perfectly good rain, so we jumped into puddle after puddle after puddle and got totally soaked. One evening during the same session, we broke into groups of girls and boys.

Campers wrote down anonymous questions about absolutely anything and counselors answered them. Every possible subject came up.

The easiest way to put it is that DREAM is different. It just is, because everyone involved in DREAM is in love with people. With that comes an incredible respect for everyone, a love for all our differences, and a resolution to talk to kids as people. Through that, a certain trust grows between mentors and mentees that so many other programs lack.

After working for DREAM last summer, I felt really good. I felt empowered and strong, like I could actually do something good even though I am just me. And there were all these kids, and finally somebody was telling them how important they are. It was huge. It is huge. So I wrote a DREAM friend a letter: “And then there’s you, full of a respect for kids and their power that I feel like DREAM and only a few others have. I think of you and I think that maybe we’ll all be okay, maybe, because people are fighting like hell to bring kids the value they deserve, because you prove to me that we are in it for life…”

I’m storming the barracks. Come join me.

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Keeping in Touch: a DREAM Alumnus

by Bryan Wellens, former St. Mike’s mentor

In January 2003, I helped establish the St. Michael’s College DREAM program at Franklin Square in South Burlington, Vermont. At the time, I couldn’t know the resounding consequences this would have for my life: a lasting commitment to a cause and a relationship with a child that would evolve into a lifelong friendship.

It has been nearly seven years, but I can still recall the first Fridays I spent with my mentee, Dragana Rodic. I was a wide-eyed freshman from New Jersey with little life experience. Dragana, at nine years old, had already experienced a sudden move from her native country of Bosnia due to war. This commonality of being away from our homes sparked our first conversations and provided the foundation of our relationship. As we shared stories, I was drawn to her sense of reality; she just wanted someone to listen to her fascinating accounts of life in the midst of a war-torn country. As she began to open up to me, it became clear that although her experiences in Bosnia shaped who she was, she just wanted to be a kid and do what people her age did.

I vividly remember the spaghetti dinner fundraisers, the apple-picking trips, the pumpkins we carved each year for Halloween, and the trips to Burlington just to grab a slice of pizza. Our unique bond grew. In time, I viewed her not as the little sister I never had, but as my friend. No matter how different our lives seemed, she could confide in me, listen to me, and enjoy the simplicities of life. The Fridays we spent together in DREAM were outlets for both of us: for the stresses of college for me, and growing up in Franklin Square for her.

Since I graduated, it has been more difficult to keep in touch. I live in Philadelphia and she moved to upstate New York. Although a lot has changed—I can’t believe she’s driving!— she continues to inspire me. She has grown up a bit; while she may no longer see me as the

“cool college guy,” she still confides in me. I’m the first person that she wants to tell when something special happens, and she still has the same excitement when I update her on my life. It’s a testament to our friendship that we’re able to share each other’s setbacks and successes, whether it’s through sporadic phone calls, postcards, or random letters. I couldn’t be more thankful to have a mentee and friend like Dragana.

DREAM will always be a special part of my life. Through these relationships with children and other mentors, we are all able to appreciate life and discover its joys. Although we no longer have those Fridays as an outlet, I still have the yellow and blue “DREAM” carving Dragana made for me in woodshop in seventh grade. Every time I see it, it reminds me of our lifelong friendship and the lessons we taught each other: Remain true to who you are, never stop believing in yourself, and always reach for your dreams!

Franklin Square Program, 2007

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our support

www.dreamprogram.org

Mentors and Children are not alone

in their relationship with each other. DREAM’s office staff, donors, alumni, and volunteers create the third tier of the DREAM tree: the tall, overarching branches whose canopy nourishes the tree beneath it. Our supportive community makes our local programs possible.

In addition to leaning on each other, mentors and children rely on the Central Office as a key resource. The Central Office provides Camp and summer programming, risk-management, and mentor training. They offer guidance to the college students and children and help local programs reach full potential.

Our community partners and broad support base enable DREAM to continually grow. DREAM has established partnerships with a number of local, regional, and national organizations and businesses that provide donations, volunteers, resources, and a belief in our work and in our future.

Their generosity and kindness make our programs possible.

This Annual Report highlights three organizational partners (Ben & Jerry’s, AmeriCorps, and the United Way, see page 26) who played pivotal roles in expanding our programming throughout Vermont in the past year. Ben & Jerry’s also provided essential financial resources to help us expand to Massachusetts.

Our extended family includes our Alumni, who contribute both funding and energy. The Alumni Organization now boasts over 800 members spanning from Maine to Alaska, and it continues to grow each year. The Alumni Organization’s mission is to engage alumni as lifelong members of the DREAM community. For some, lifelong engagement means staying connected with their mentees or opening their homes to programs as they travel on a Culminating Experience trip. For others it means returning to Camp DREAM every year to volunteer at a camp session. Many alumni support local programs through a donation to the annual Alumni Appeal.

The final piece of DREAM’s extended family consists of individual donors from across the country. This group includes mentor families, friends, and everyone else who feels inspired to donate to the Annual Appeal, volunteer time, and ultimately see DREAM succeed.

All of these groups comprise the third tier of the DREAM tree. They create our vital supportive community and ensure that our children and mentors continue growing.

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The Central Office initiates DREAM programs throughout

New England. The Central Office also supports the Local Programs by providing mentor training, facilitating D-Unit summer programming, coaching mentors for High Adventure trips, making resources available for parents, children, and mentors, and more. The Central Office is also home to the Camp staff who oversee our wonderland in Fletcher and the programs it offers throughout the year to children and mentors.

“Working in the DREAM Office has been an awesome experience. I came to DREAM right out of college and found an unbelievable community and the opportunity to help young people turn their ideas into reality. What I have learned about the mechanics of leadership, program development, and strategic thinking is totally invaluable. The amount of fun I’ve had along the way is unprecedented. This is not your typical organization!”

- Jen Lazar, former DREAM office staff member

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www.dreamprogram.org

“Okay, there I was sitting in the Elm St. office on an idle Tuesday, when all of a sudden, Ashley Seymour comes bursting through the door. She was out of breath, screaming and jumping up and down. When I finally got her to calm down and tell us what was going on, she said, ‘I got in college.’

Ashley had gotten into college, and she wanted the DREAM office to be the first to know. Ashley said without the support of DREAM and mentors, she didn’t think she would ever make it in. I’ll never forget her smile that day.”

– Liz Haag, Assocatie Executive Director

“DREAM drives me to aspire to bigger and better things and find a way to integrate those things and experiences for kids and mentors.

DREAM inspires me to keep having fun and never lose the kid in me. DREAM inspires me to help anyone in any way I can. DREAM inspires me to try to pull as many of my friends into a cause I believe in.”

–Mike Loner, Executive Director

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Camp DREAM

DREAM purchased 50 acres of land on Metcalf Pond in Fletcher, VT with support from the Vermont Land Trust in 2004. Managed by the Central Office, Camp DREAM offers innovative outdoor experiences to children and cultivates a sense of caring for community, environment, and self among all who participate.

Each year, Camp DREAM offers free summer and winter camping experiences to children (age eight and up) and mentors. It is a magical place for children and mentors to make lasting friendships, run through the woods, swim in Metcalf Pond, learn about fruits and vegetables in our garden, sing camp songs, and participate in outdoor adventures. In the winter, children camp overnight and fill their days with snowball fights, cross country skiing, campfire stories, snowshoeing, and smores. In the summer of 2009, generous donations to our Summer Camp Appeal helped break new records, sending over 100 kids to Camp!

Camp DREAM continues to grow every year. 2008 marked the first year campers slept in the Newton Family Treehouse, a fully enclosed lodging structure with bunk beds and a firepole. In the summer of 2009, campers also slept in the lean-tos and hung out in the renovated homestead area. Former camp staffers Chris Howell and Paul Schwartzkopf constructed both of these structures. Annual trail crews continually build new trails, bridges, and structures throughout camp. Generous donations from individuals, foundations, and the AmeriCorps program make Camp possible as a cherished place for everyone in the DREAM family.

www.dreamprogram.org

D-Unit Summer Programming The Central Office realizes that programming should not end during the summer even though most mentors break from school. The Office created D-Unit, a summer intern program that hires mentors to run on-site activities in all eleven communities from June through August. D-Unit engages children in DREAM communities with energetic programming and connects directly with families. It complements our school-year programming and provides a unique connection to the communities we work with.

Highgate D-Unit. 2009

“A DREAM summer is more than a summer with kids; it is the greatest and most self-reflective job you will ever have.

You begin the summer thinking you will learn planning and child management skills, and by the end, you realize you’ve learned the most about yourself and made some of the best friends you will ever have.�

- Caitlin Patey, Champlain College mentor and D-Unit Franklin Square D-Unit. 2009

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The Alumni Organization Once a DREAMer, always a DREAMer. When mentors graduate and mentees turn 18, they join the Alumni Organization. The Alumni Organization boasts over 800 members and spans the entire world. DREAM Alumni keep in touch with their mentees, attend events around the country, and build the Alumni Endowment with annual donations. The Alumni Organization’s endowment just passed $50,000. Interest from the endowment funds initiatives designed by Local Programs and mentor pairs. Projects include adventure trips, program events, and community projects. Thank you to the donors who built this endowment.

Donors In The 2007 Alumni Appeal $1000 and up Jeff Kinkaid Tm Wright Jon Potter Sam Glickman $500-$999 Charles & Anita Warren Leah Threatte Peter Helseth Ed Bialas Jesse Foote $250-$499 Beth Huston Drew Sheriff Megan Johnston Mike Newton $100-$249 Bryan Wellens Courtney Chou David Anderson David Ball Laura Burt Laura Zarchin Lauren Emerson Marc Angelico

Mike Sawyer Molly Miranda Sam Fitz Cammee Shannon Peter Sokol-Hessner Cailie Burns Aaron Gaines Rebecca Taxier Brian Feldman Brooke Lierman Josh Warren Kailie Willets Katrina Preiss Paul Biggs Mike Lefebvre & Corrie McCarty Devon Green

Edy Wilson Elizabeth Rosen Forest Hanson Gary Tilden Jeremy Ellis John Armory Josh Slattery Julia Risk Katie Wiseman Lindsay Greenberg Liza Rosenbaum

Mary Curtin Nathalie Sheppe Raj Karla Rob Bialas Sarah Hall Sean Alpert Tracy Kim Amira Bakr Bree Dusseault Carly O’Connell Dan August John Cyr

$50-$99 AJ LeGaye Allison Paradee Ashley Carleton Ashley Mas Brad Bate Chad Butt Chris Murphy Christopher Taylor Kathryn & Charles Ross Dominic Piperno Northern Alumni BBQ 2009

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$25-$49 Adam Gottlieb Alison Basdekis Becca Karlen Brittany Beth Brittany Walker Chris Ellingwood Christine Ennis Cindy Wu Claire Chandler Courtney Breslin Dan Hassouni Emily Rummo Eric Fries James Goodman Jeannie Eisburg Jeff Cooney Jon Hopper Jordan-Nahas Vigon Judy Huang Kate Hubbell Katherine Depew Katie Reichardt Kelly Fisher Ki Mae Heussner Lindsey David Lu Neuse Melissa Shelko Meredeth McGowan Paul Espina Ryan Farran Sarah Williams Scott Hess Tara Murphy Tikhon Bernstam Victoria Fener Charlotte Born Christin Kehn Dean Krishna Dominic Germana JJ Pinette Kendra Nardi Kirstin Beattie Kristin Burdge Megan Spaulding Molly Redmond Nicole Walsh Steve Addison Alexis Sheehan

Kate Knight Steve Antaya Alli Shapiro Jenni Post Antje & Sebastian Barreveld Chris Brown Djahane Salehabadi Kate Haggerty Keith Musselman Nikolas Franks Tin Ha-Ngoc Mike Foote $1-$24 Lindsay Johanson James Keller Alex Kallis Alex Torres Allison Boyles Anne Fletcher Bob Bartlett Craig Davis Dakota Casserly

Dylan Gee Giulia Good-Stefani Jackie Greaney Jossie Tommasino Kristin Romberg Laura Roche Maggie Russell Monica Barrera Contreras Nancy Beard Nick Koshnick Shelby Soares Stephanie Lawrence Susie Fox Tim Yang Elizabeth Bissell Katie Stevenson Lance Kramer Mirelle Phillips Tammy Whittington Adam Goldfarb Allie Williams Becky Groberg Chelsea Minkler

Chris Higgins Dan Hassouni Daniella Hirschfeld Dave Damby Evan Chriss Kristi Cannon Laura March Maya Srikanth Mike Kennedy Paul Salipante Rachel Richardson Sarah Hughes Sarah Mistretta Stepahnie Gergely Stepahie Nguyen

See donors and details of the 2008 alumni appeal on our website.

Alumni Reunion at Camp DREAM, 2008

27 alumni returned to Camp DREAM for the 2008 Alumni Reunion. They discussed future Alumni initiatives, worked on Camp projects, competed in the second Matcalfathonalon, and threw a rocking campfire show.

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The Annual Appeal Individual donors provide more than 15% of our budget. These gifts ensure consistent programming and seed new initiatives. Families of current and past mentors comprise the core of our donor base, illustrating DREAM’s important role in the lives of our mentors. As our program grows, we continue to build a solid group of community supporters who ensure our long-term commitment to Vermont’s children. Thank you to all the donors who make our work possible.

87 donors gave over $70,139 in the 2007 Appeal $5000 and up Gail Lees Haag Family Regina Olchowski The Adam’s Fund $2500-$4999 Dorothy & Jack Byrne Helen & Andy Biggs $1000-$2499 Alice Foote Jen Lazar & Daniel Shearer Judy Krueger Karen & Lowell Richards Kenny Bacow Rees & Kathy Shearer IBM Robert Brisee Ian & Karla Kennedy Jon Potter Scott Mishara $500-$999 Brian & Jeanne Addison Dale & Kirk Gleason Denise & James Palmer Jack & Kathleen McKay James Chalfant & BB King Jean Burdge The Piperno Family $250-$499 Allison & Patrick Caulfield Eric Thorgerson & Elizabeth Foote

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Karen & Paul Dusini Kent & Liz Dauten Patrick & Jean DeLeon Peter & Mallory Armstrong Sue & Chuck Burt The Baer Family The Bird Family The Jenkins Family The Mervak Family Chris Howell Dorothy Treisman The Huston Family Curt Guenther Linda & Monte Shaw

Joelle Kayden Kevin & Sasha Goldman Mark Eckstein Matt & Jamie Brown Mike & Ida McNamara Rebecca Deutsch Rex and Karen Butt Ronald & Laurel Schliftman Susan & Barry Rosen Grandma Biggs The Carniciu Family The Connor Family The Dumont Family The Dwinell Family The Farran Family $100-$249 The Land Family Amy & George Lathrop Alan & Judith Hoffman Andy Barker & Ana Ruesink Jean Latour Ann & Randall Deming Laura Shaw Birgit Wunn Sarah Kahn & Richard Routhier Chris Krueger Barbara Prickett Connie Lierman David Spinola David Hirshey & Susan Squire Jaime Garamella David Hoffman Jon Harris David Squire Lara Petersen David Williams Matt Dunne & Sarah Taylor Deborah Young Mike Fink Eleanor Burns Ralph Perkins and Tuberville Farm Elizabeth Allen Regina Mahoney Erin Moodie & Alex Ghesquiere Sheila Julien Frank Haines The Landes Family Geraldine & Gregory Bebernitz The Tilden Family Jay Vigon & Margo Nahas Paul Schwartzkopf Jeffrey & Michele Parker Bob Buerman Jeisook and John Thayer Ted & Esther Burns Jerry Bryant & Fran Goodwin Mike & Vicki Loner

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$50-$99 Russ & Lara Weis Andrew Chriss Barbara Burns Sullivan Bill and Jane Clarke Carl & Jessica Ellis Carol Loner Charles & Anita Warren David & Sabine Sheppe David Foote Dennis & Andrea Brown Erica-Lee Pierce & Michael Nagle Gerry Shelton Harry Resovsky & Dorothy Abercrombie Henry Dusseault Ira Mintzer and Marian Menkel Janice Miller John & Kathleen Floyd John Tobin & Gail Risse Jon & Kathleen Ballou Karyn Sandelman & Michael Dobbs Lisa Marks Margaret Burdge Mark Trudeau Mary & David Palumbo Mary and Robert Zuraw Mary Ippolito Pat & Dave Oberdorff Randall & Lisa Austin-Smith Rina Watson Robert & Lori Horowitz Ruchard and Suzanne Rothstein Shelley Bogaert Sithara Batcha Steve Fisher & Nancy Garretson Stu McGowan Suzanne & Daniel Schliftman The Sokol Family The Zaengle Family Tim Ashe William & Jayne Addison The Kmetz Family Otho Kerr The Butterworth Family The Hunter Family Jon Normandin

$1-$49 Michael Hampl Virginia & Hollis Field Gary De Carolis Jerry Geier Laura Goldblatt Lise Martin Rose Pinette Nancy Cathcart Adele Weinstein Ana Espina Arlene Aizer-Cohen Cathy & Mark Conrad Cynthia Gaskill & Stephen Bezark Debbie Mandel Elaine Guregian Felicity Bensch and David Fogarty Helen Crosby James & Paula Rish Joel & Janet Angelico Johanna Neugebauer Kathy & Joshua Chasan Lauren Armstrong

Manson Solomon Marlene Tillery Mary Allan Owen & Dorothy Walsh Robert and Leanne Linck Sally Guregian & Robert Witte Schuyler Crawford Sheila Sandelman Suzanne Sherer-Arenos Teddy Salgado The Barrett Family The Covey Family The Gosselin Family The Lawton Family The Magna Family The Morse Family The Sbardella Family Galen Wilkerson The Driscoll Family The Higgins Family Siobhan Donegan & Vince Brennan Joyce Dubensky & Philip Segal Anne & Ted Thaxter

Janet McDonald and FrElm St. mentees, Shelburne Orchards 2008

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Partners and Supporters

DREAM continually cultivates our broad support network to grow into a powerful force for change. Over the past six years, DREAM developed partnerships with many local, regional, and national organizations and businesses. We offer our thanks to all of the organizations who partnered with us in 2008. Your help empowers us to do what we love to do.

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Organizational Partnerships

This year we want to highlight three partnerships critical to our success in Vermont and our expansion to our new home in Massachusetts.

Ben & Jerry’s

Ben & Jerry’s and DREAM continue to grow closer together in our partnership. Our relationship began seven years ago when Ben & Jerry’s joined us at Camp for a company-wide volunteer workday. Our two organizations immediately recognized a shared passion for outrageous energy, care for community, and worldchanging vision. These inspiring traits drove both organizations to develop a meaningful partnership.

Each organization experiences the relationship on multiple levels. When our Central Office staff doubled in size to eighteen, Ben & Jerry’s welcomed us into their community by donating office space.

They lent us technical expertise to design a brochure we will use to promote our veggie-fleet sponsorship

AmeriCorps

The DREAM Program won a grant to become an AmeriCorps State Program in 2007 through our partnership with the Vermont Office of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The AmeriCorps grant expanded our Central Office from nine to seventeen (12 AmeriCorps members, 5 full-time staff). These AmeriCorps provide direct service to our thirteen Local Programs. In addition to providing AmeriCorps to our Central Office, the grant enables us to recruit the small armies that form our D-Unit and Summer Camp Counselor programs. We want to thank Gretchen, Martha, Liz, and Emily, the wonderful staff at the Vermont CNCS Office, as well as the rest of the Vermont CNCS Commissioners for their support and encouragement over the past two years.

program. Most recently, Ben & Jerry’s provided vital funding to make our Boston expansion possible. And of course, our kids periodically enjoy free ice cream from Vermont’s Finest!

Camp DREAM provides an opportunity for Ben & Jerry’s employees to engage their local community while doing meaningful work and strengthening team bonds. When Ben & Jerry’s launched Scooper’s Making Change, a youth mentoring initiative, they invited a former staff member to assist with the project. One employee volunteers on DREAM’s Board of Directors for her community volunteer time. We are always ready to supply our energy – our love for DREAMing Big – to the Ben & Jerry’s office.

Our relationship with Ben & Jerry’s exemplifies DREAM’s belief in a two-way partnership built off common goals. Their support of our Boston expansion mimics their own story: small beginnings in Vermont that grew uncontrollably to a national scale. Thank you Ben & Jerry’s for all that you do for DREAM!

United Way

DREAM proudly calls itself a Member Agency of the United Way of Chittenden County and the United Way of Rutland County. Our partnership with these two community organizations allows us to reach more children throughout Vermont. We launched Chittenden County’s fifth DREAM program in 2008 with a partnership between the families of the Riverside community in Burlington’s Old North End and students from the University of Vermont. Green Mountain College joined our DREAM family in a partnership made possibly by the United Way of Rutland County. We thank the dedicated staff of the United Way of Chittenden County and the United Way of Rutland County.

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our future

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Oh, the places DREAM will go! We see unlimited possibility

as we pass our tenth year and look to the future. As DREAM new office in Boston nears its one year anniversary, we feel a surreal sense of excitement over our past accomplishments and the future ahead. The quote below from Valerie French, the mother of a mentee, describes DREAM’s long-term impact on her own daughter.

Our birthday not only celebrates benchmark goals like opening new offices and expanding to new programs, it also marks the growth within our own DREAMers!

“The experience of the DREAM Program has been so wonderful for my children.

Being a part of the program has given my children the added boost they needed in order to accomplish goals—personal, educational, and social—that were less attainable prior to being mentored. During the time that Kathlyne, my oldest daughter, was mentored, she changed from a quiet, introverted child into a selfconfident and outgoing young woman who was ready to take on the world when she entered college in 2007. Her experience with the DREAM Program and her mentor was definitely the positive influence that gave her the base foundation she needed to accomplish this transformation. I am extremely grateful to all of the past and future mentors that have been or will be involved with my children and look forward to more wonderful outcomes for my daughters during their association with the DREAM Program and mentors. This program is such a positive experience for the children involved.”- Valerie J. French, mother, North Woods/Hollow Drive Annual Report 2009

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Growing and DREAMing Big

by Josh Warren, Program Empowerment Director

ultimately my life’s work and direction.

Before that meeting, my self-image as a “typical college student” might have prevented me from joining a mentoring program. What did I have to offer a child? Who would want to spend their Friday afternoons hanging out with me? Why would I want to spend my Friday afternoons volunteering? Yet, within those 30 minutes, my outlook shifted from “What do I have to offer?” to an overly enthusiastic “When can we start?”

Suddenly I found myself lost in a maze of mobile homes in Birchwood Manor, an affordable housing community in Milton, VT. I was with eight other Champlain College DREAM mentors on a mission to recruit the first group of Birchwood mentees. Some doors stayed closed and others shut in our faces, but seven wonderful families invited us

Five years ago, I sat on the floor in the foyer of into their homes and into their lives. I partnered with a Champlain College dorm listening to Chad Butt and an eight-year-old boy named Michael. In a few short Mike Foote offer me an opportunity that would allow weeks, the Birchwood program became DREAM’s me to break up my mundane college schedule, have sixth Local Program with nine mentoring matches. fun, be a kid again, and positively impact a child’s life I enjoyed two fun-filled years as Michael’s —all at the same time. mentor. We spent Friday afternoons on campus at

As Chad put it while reflecting on his own time Champlain College or in downtown Burlington. We as a mentor, “It was hands-down the best experience traveled to Montreal, upstate New York, Boston, and of my college career.” Although they only spoke for Camp DREAM. Whether he knew it or not, Michael 30 minutes, Mike and Chad transformed my views became one of the most influential people in my on civic engagement, community involvement, and life. Soon after meeting him, I changed my major from digital forensics to elementary education.

I took a job with the college as a student outreach coordinator and found my free time happily consumed by helping others find their inspiration for community service.

My two years as a mentor were quite possibly the best of my life, but things were not

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Birchwood, Culminating Experience NYC, 2006

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Josh and Michael, 2005

trip or culminating experience, and in each adventure to Camp, mentees and mentors challenge each other to step outside of their comfort zones, take constructive risks, and raise the bar to increase possibilities in their own lives. DREAM’s model is something that I believe in, and I find great joy in introducing it to new colleges and communities.

This past fall, I embarked on a new journey with Chad to open DREAM’s first regional office in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Our Boston office is not only DREAM’s first expansion beyond Vermont, it is also the first application of our mentoring model in an urban setting.

We have started two local programs in our first year, and we aim to mirror Vermont DREAM’s size and scope by year five. I am proud to launch a bright future in Boston just as Chad, Michael, and DREAM helped me launch a bright future at Champlain College five years ago.

For every smile he shed a tear, and for every outburst of laughter he lashed out in a fit of temper. He taught me the importance of taking constructive and calculated risks. He helped me raise the bar for possibilities in my own life. For every milestone that I helped Michael achieve, he helped me reach my own goals tenfold.

Michael showed me that anything was possible.

In the fall of 2008, I returned to The DREAM Program as an AmeriCorps staff member to open DREAM’s first satellite office in Bennington, VT. Once again I found myself sitting on the floor across from Chad, only now I was the one telling college students that “DREAM was hands-down the best experience of my college career.” I supported mentors at Green Mountain College and Bennington College to help create the Poultney DREAM program and the Willowbrook DREAM program. With the addition of these two local programs, DREAM grew to serve over 250 mentoring matches.

In five short years I have felt DREAM’s overwhelming impact on my life, but my story is not unique. With every Friday afternoon spent on a college campus or in the community, on every High Adventure

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DREAM’s Next Five Years

by Mike Loner, Executive Director

This fall, the Boston office expanded its reach to pair two communities, Orchard Gardens and Madison Park, with two colleges, Northeastern University and Boston University.

The Boston office will hire its first Executive Director in three years to operate independently of the Central Office. We anticipate our presence in Boston to equal Vermont’s current program size and staff structure in five years. The DREAM Central Office will learn from this first expansion in order to begin replicating other regional offices throughout the Northeast. Our goal is to establish regional offices in Boston, Western Massachusetts and Rhode Island within ten years.

You, our supporters, make all of this possible. It is possible because of your dedication and love for DREAM, your donations of time, energy, and money, and your unwavering support for our kids. You are the GIANTS of DREAM. You empower us to DREAM Big about the future. And you give us the confidence to take our exciting program to more kids and more mentors across the region.

We must all do our part to make this vision, this DREAM, a reality. How? If you volunteer as a mentor, do what you do best: support your kids and help them achieve their dreams. If you are an alumnus, contact the Alumni Organization and stay involved. If you are a friend and supporter of DREAM, let others know about our work and encourage them to give.

And if you live in Boston, let everyone know that DREAM has arrived!

Thank you all and keep DREAMing!

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Our Current Programs as of 2009

Vermont Programs

Orchard Gardens & Boston University

Massachusetts Programs

Madison Park & Northeastern University

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An Interview with one of DREAM’s Founders Mike Foote

Mike Foote helped found DREAM at Dartmouth College in 1999. This past summer he worked at the Central Office, evaluating the organization’s finances in preparation for expansion to new states.

Lily: How did DREAM begin and what was it like?

Mike: I think the most important thing to create context for how DREAM started up is that it was very much organic. We didn’t start the DREAM Program, Inc. We didn’t start with the idea that it would become a youth mentoring program, we didn’t start with the idea that it would have these trips, we certainly didn’t think it would spread to other schools or have a camp or even anymore than a handful of kids or a handful of college students.

Every step along the way has really been this organic development… doing what we are excited about doing.

These ideas came from both having strong relationships with the kids – what do these kids want to do, what can we add to the program that would add value to their lives – and what we think is just plain fun. A lot of it came just from this group of college students who had a ton of energy and wanted to make some sort of change.

They all had a lot of creativity and pushed themselves and shared ownership in the start up of it. We had a lot of smart people thinking about it all the time. Thinking about how we could make it more appealing to college students so they would want to get involved or how we could better outreach with the families or what next wacky activity we wanted to do.

L: Can you tell us about the core value of contagious energy?

M: DREAM is a different kind of non-profit – it’s rebellious. Determined to do what no one else has. It tries to redefine things, it’s tried to do stuff that other groups may want to do, but don’t because there’s not enough imagination or will or… naiveté, which I think was very important in getting us off the ground.

So DREAM was this very rebellious college student group. A number of our core values just started up because the experiences and the personalities of the founding group were met with success. The rebelliousness was met with success, and that’s why

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the rebelliousness stuck. The culture was created from things that worked. The rebelliousness worked. And the energy that DREAM has….in the beginning that was just a fun group of energetic people, who would go to Templeton Court Housing and parade around with the kids even though everyone was looking at them and asking ‘who are you, you are wearing crazy clothes, you are completely bizarre in this community.’ Yet this energy was met with success. The kids fell in love with it. The parents fell in love with it. And it has become a core component, a staple of the organization.

L: Can you tell us about how not becoming part of the Tucker foundation at Dartmouth affected the way the program was run?

M: It was exciting because it was all student-run, and I still think this is a strong piece of the culture, if the students didn’t make it happen, it didn’t happen. If the students dropped the ball, DREAM tripped. But it was all up to the students, it was their responsibility. So, to this day, one of the core values of the organization is student ownership. So DREAM staff really pride themselves on the fact that when they aren’t there to run the programs, the students run the programs. Staff are there to facilitate, to provide resources, some energy when they need energy, but really the students make the decisions… If the students want to go to Botswana, they go to Botswana. Different organizational components came about like that. Because these students were in charge. So when they had ideas, they ran with the ideas. From it being having a yellow DREAM shirt, to deciding to go to Colorado on the first High Adventure, to meeting President Bush on the lawn of the White House, to doing community improvement projects at Templeton. There is really a huge list of people who took initiative on their own projects. And that’s really how, organically, the organization turned into what we know now, like mentoring on Fridays, Culminating Experience trips, High Adventures, community development projects, occasionally teen DREAM events. And it continues today. People have innovative ideas, and they pursue them.

L: What sort of impact did the first High Adventure to Colorado have on the program?

M: That High Adventure was a huge turning point for the community, for Templeton Court. It was like, “Okay, we have seen these mentoring programs where college students hang out with kids before. And you know its pretty neat these kids and college students are going to Boston, Montréal, DC...” but then, it was like, “whoa, this group of kids just fundraised seven or eight thousand dollars and they are going to Colorado.” I mean that was just a radical change for the community.

These kids who had rarely been out of White River Junction were planning a trip so large in scale and taking responsibility for the entire thing. That really changed the whole feel of the organization. It built just another layer of trust. I think it sparked some hope in the community that hadn’t been there before. This one event was just like, “Oh wow, we can really do bigger and better things.”

L: What stands out in your memory of how it felt to be part of those early days of DREAM? M: I remember when we came back from our first trip to Boston, and it was this new program, and we had just taken forty kids and forty mentors down to this city and explored this city. These kids had never been there and it was this wild time and everyone’s eyes were just huge and you could just see the new experiences inundating them. It was fascinating and motivating. So I got back and we dropped the kids off and on the way home all the mentors are on one bus together and singing and screaming and realizing that we created a program that was affecting a lot of peoples’ lives in a really good way.

It was downright awesome. And so the bsses parked at the Dartmouth Green and everyone left and then all of a sudden I was alone. I remember just sort of walking across the green, and I had been so overwhelmed the whole day by excitement and emotions and energy, so I just started clapping, walking across this big green.

And then I just started crying and it was a powerful time and I realized we had all come across something that was very unique and very special. And if any of us could have seen then what it is today – how many wonderful kids and families we’re serving – we would have been all the more determined because it was that little program that has now seeped into not just these 13 communities and college students and staff but all

of Vermont and beyond. And the memories go with the mentors and children when they leave DREAM and it’s like ripples in a pond – you see DREAM changing attitudes and lives on a very grand scale.

L: Where do you see DREAM going?

M: I see it as an imperative to spread the program. But we need to do it well, maintain the powerful culture, the college student ownership and our focus on individual children. DREAM works. It sparks a new type of hope that is worthy of replicating in as many communities as we possibly can.

So what’s next… I think DREAM’s lucky because it has a lot of people who believe in it, who have experienced it directly or somehow seen its impact. I hope in the coming months and years that those who have supported DREAM so far step up to the challenge of launching it nationally. It’s going to take the same kind of optimism that started everything in the first place. But it’s an extraordinarily successful model and I think can reach thousands of children across the country and that’s well worth the investment. We’re already off to an exciting start too, as alumni and other friends are helped us start in Boston last fall.

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Financial Statements

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The Financial Statements shared here reflect DREAM’s income and expenses during the calendar year from Jan uary 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. In 2008, DREAM changed its fiscal year to follow a September 1 through August 31 budgetary cycle in order to better reflect our actual program year. The financial statements for our Fiscal Year 2008 are available online and will be shared during our next Annual Report.

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Thank you

“DREAM is filled with incredible children, phenomenal college students, amazing parents, and enthusiastic supporters. Without each of these pieces, DREAM would not be the program it has become.”

–Cailie Burns, former office staff

Please contact us with questions or ideas: info@dreamprogram.org, 802-338-8979

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